CHHATRAPATI SAMBHAJINAGAR: Maharashtra CID slapped MCOCA charges, mandating the death sentence, on eight accused, including a fugitive, in the December 9 abduction-murder of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh from Massajog village in Beed district.
The abduction-murder case is linked to the cases of a Rs 2 crore extortion attempt on a renewable energy firm in Massajog on November 29, 2024, and an assault on the firm’s security guards and other staffers on December 6, 2024, CID said.
Parli municipal council’s former chief Valmik Karad, a close aide of NCP’s state minister Dhananjay Munde, and NCP’s Kaij taluka president Vishnu Chate are among the accused in the Rs 2 crore extortion case. Karad’s aide and the prime accused, Sudarshan Ghule, is named in all three cases.
A video showing Ghule being overpowered by Massajog villagers, including sarpanch Deshmukh, during a clash at the renewable energy firm’s yard on Dec 6, 2024, was shared as a status by the entire village. This prompted Ghule to avenge the ‘insult,’ which eventually led to the sarpanch’s murder, CID claimed.
In an audio recording obtained by the CID, Valmik Karad is heard threatening the firm’s officials on Nov 29, 2024, using Chate’s phone, urging them to fulfill whatever Ghule was demanding.
